Greatest Vocal Foil of all-time?

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Lee hazelwood, Flavor Flav, Joe Strummer, others?

― Paul Edward Wagemann (PaulEdwardWagemann), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 00:58 (twenty years ago)

carrie brownstein

― john david bootyflake (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 01:00 (twenty years ago)

Einar

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 01:01 (twenty years ago)

Bobby Byrd

― and PappaWheelie, author of Have You Ever Been Poxy Fuled? (PappaWheelie 2), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 01:03 (twenty years ago)

if joe strummer counts, then:

exene

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 01:03 (twenty years ago)

Bob Wills

― whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 01:43 (twenty years ago)

- Richard Berry (that's the male voice heard behind Etta James on her Modern label releases from the fifties, like "Roll With Me Henry")

- Charlie Foxx (duetting with his sister Inez Foxx on sixties soul hits like "Mockingbird," "Count The Days," etc.)

- the token male in the Orlons whose bass voice was used for comic relief in early '60's hits like "South Street," "The Wah-Watusi," "Not Me"

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 01:47 (twenty years ago)

Grace Slick

Guy Piccioto

Guggi from the Virgin Prunes

Brix E. Smith

― sleeve version 2.0 (sleeve testing), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 02:23 (twenty years ago)

fred schneider

― john david bootyflake (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 02:26 (twenty years ago)

Mark Volman (Turtles)

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 02:28 (twenty years ago)

Einar is less a vocal foil than a vocal nuisance; he inserts himself into songs but he doesn't create any sort of interesting tension or interplay with Bjork - he's just there, operating under the delusion that he is an equally important vocalist. In fact, he peaks on "My punctuality is well known" on the first song on their first album and never really does anything worthwhile ever again.

Carrie Brownstein is a great answer, as is Fred Schneider. Although.... both seem to be in the category of band members who are the foil as often as they are the lead being foiled. Flavor Flav's whole musical identity in PE is to be the vocal foil.

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 02:31 (twenty years ago)

ts: carrie v. fred

― john david bootyflake (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 02:35 (twenty years ago)

Duke Ellington

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Tuesday, 19 September 2006 02:36 (twenty years ago)

What about the dude who stood behind the dude in Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Lead moustache!

― bendy (bendy), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 02:40 (twenty years ago)

Duke Ellington

Explain?

― bendy (bendy), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 02:41 (twenty years ago)

I base it entirely on a particular recording of "I Got Rhythm" that I heard once maybe a long time ago

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Tuesday, 19 September 2006 02:43 (twenty years ago)

Larry Graham?

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 02:44 (twenty years ago)

i can't get thru an emmylou harris record, but, man, is she the best on other people's records. for desire alone she would be one of my faves. i love stevie nicks as a back-up vocalist too. i mean, i love her up front, but she is so great backing people up. but i don't know if they define "foil". they definitely add something that wouldn't be there without them. or make something better by virtue of their presence. and i think they bring out warmth in the people they are singing with that isn't always there otherwise. greatest foil i can think of is keely smith (who i absolutely adore solo).

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 02:47 (twenty years ago)

bjork

― Igor Adkins (Grodd), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 02:55 (twenty years ago)

mimi parker

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 04:27 (twenty years ago)

mary hansen

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 04:28 (twenty years ago)

kelly hogan

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 04:29 (twenty years ago)

either georgia hubley or ira kaplan

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 04:33 (twenty years ago)

guy piccioto

― latebloomer aka 'the sun' (latebloomer), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 04:35 (twenty years ago)

Einar is less a blah blah blah

Einar rules ok.

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 08:11 (twenty years ago)

Les Claypool and Tom Waits. Who is the foil to whom? Find out next week on...WHEEL OF FORTUNE.

― a naked Kraken annoying Times Square tourists with an acoustic guitar (nickalici, Tuesday, 19 September 2006 12:39 (twenty years ago)

haha the rem preoccupation of late necessitates it: berry

― Charlie Howard (the sphinx), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 12:42 (twenty years ago)

nate dogg

― RoxyMuzak© (roxymuzak), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 12:48 (twenty years ago)

http://www.officemuseum.com/IMagesWWW/1878_Edison_and_Phonograph_Mathew_Brady_OM.JPG

― Space Gourmand (Haberdager), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 12:54 (twenty years ago)

haha the rem preoccupation of late necessitates it: berry

Er....Mills, right? what tracks does Bill Berry spit rhymes on?

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 14:07 (twenty years ago)

hahah shit sorry

of course you're right

― Charlie Howard (the sphinx), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 14:14 (twenty years ago)

Chris Difford

― hank (hank s), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 14:21 (twenty years ago)

i can't get thru an emmylou harris record

Even Wrecking Ball? That's a 2am come-down classic.

― Edward III (edward iii), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 15:08 (twenty years ago)

Flavor Flav

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 15:27 (twenty years ago)

I've been really impressed with Sarah Martin's vocals for Belle and Sebastian - she's a much better partner for Stewart Murdoch than Isobel Campbell ever was.

Kirsty MacColl lights up whatever she did backing/co-lead vocals for.

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 15:31 (twenty years ago)

what tracks does Bill Berry spit rhymes on?

I always loved his contribution to the Fall on Me chorus - "It's gonna fall.."

― BrianB (BrianB), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 15:51 (twenty years ago)

What the hell do we mean by vocal foil?

― Johnathan Redgers (Pearl Hooch), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 16:14 (twenty years ago)

a secondary singer in a band whose vocal abilities are so bad (or so good) they make the lead singer sound better...

― hank (hank s), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 16:25 (twenty years ago)

Chris Difford, frinstance...

― hank (hank s), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 16:26 (twenty years ago)

http://pics.drugstore.com/prodimg/93844/200.jpg

― a naked Kraken annoying Times Square tourists with an acoustic guitar (nickalici, Tuesday, 19 September 2006 17:13 (twenty years ago)

Even Wrecking Ball? That's a 2am come-down classic.

-- Edward III (ehonaue...)

O.T.M.

Such a good record.

― RoxyMuzak© (roxymuzak), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 17:24 (twenty years ago)

Hm, seems there's more than one interpretation of "vocal foil" on this thread. (Which is good.)

I say Jerome Green.

Or howbout the bass singer (VARIOUS bass singers, actually) from the Coasters? They always got to do the punchline, "Why is everybody always pickin' on me?" etc.

― M. Agony Von Bontee (M. Agony Von Bontee), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 17:49 (twenty years ago)

a secondary singer in a band whose vocal abilities are so bad ~~(or so good)~~ they make the lead singer sound better...

keef wins!

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 17:52 (twenty years ago)

Or howbout the bass singer (VARIOUS bass singers, actually) from the Coasters? They always got to do the punchline, "Why is everybody always pickin' on me?" etc.

Oh yeah! That stuff is great! Also whoever does the little throat-clearing noise in "Along Came Jones." Best foil moment: "What About Us," when the bass guy comes in to make weary observations like "What a gas..." "Got it made..." and "Well!"

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 18:32 (twenty years ago)

*cough*kimdeal*cough*

― Jimmy Mod's Champion Erotic Fantasy Team 2006 (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 18:55 (twenty years ago)

Roy Estrada

― Danny Aioli (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 19:09 (twenty years ago)

jerome benton

that girl that was with louis prima in his heyday.

― M@tt He1geson: Real Name, No Gimmicks (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 19:11 (twenty years ago)

SEN DOG of CYPRESS HILL FAME

― a naked Kraken annoying Times Square tourists with an acoustic guitar (nickalici, Tuesday, 19 September 2006 19:15 (twenty years ago)

Julia Cafritz in Pussy Galore

― Edward III (edward iii), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 19:21 (twenty years ago)

tru dat! sen dong!

― M@tt He1geson: Real Name, No Gimmicks (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 19:21 (twenty years ago)

Pharrell (just kidding)

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 19:26 (twenty years ago)

Did I get this wrong? I just took it to be someone whose presence in a duet made the song better, though not necessarily by upping the ante - I think Stuart Murdoch's voice is made to sound better by having Sarah Martin singing alongside. Similarly, Kirsty MacColl has made Shane McGowan/Billy Bragg/Miles Hunt/Shaun Ryder sound better just by being there.

(like what Scott Seward said)

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 21:58 (twenty years ago)

Well, the term "foil"'s usually reserved for literature or theatre, right? There's no precise equivalent within the realm of musicmaking, so it's more a matter of DIFFERENTLY interpreting the term rather than mis-interpreting it. So there IS no "getting it wrong"! Any backup singer (or duet partner, or call-and-response recipient, or etc.) whose mere presence inevitably invites comparisons to the leader, is a foil. You got it right...but the OPPOSITE is also true! A Sarah Martin who made Murdoch sound worse would still be a foil.

Class dismissed!

― Monty Von Boring (Monty Von Byonga), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 03:33 (twenty years ago)

roger waters

― timmy tannin (pompous), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 03:49 (twenty years ago)

Brian Eno, especially when he busts out the Wall of Enos.

― Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 03:56 (twenty years ago)

Louis Jordan, on "Beware": "Be a man!"
Anonymous guy: "A SUPERMAN!"

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 03:59 (twenty years ago)

I think that's Mike Mills on "Fall on Me." My fave track of theirs.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 04:00 (twenty years ago)

Massive thread, by the way.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 04:02 (twenty years ago)

I went to a James Brown show the weekend EMP opened and, having seen James and the Soul Gs before, was more gassed to see and hear Bobby Byrd do two tunes with the JBs during the opening set. I also got really drunk, took a wrong turn into the VIP seats and shook Robbie Robertson's hand, thoroughly baffling him with an "It's good to see you." We'd never met before.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 04:05 (twenty years ago)

Nominating Lint (from Op Ivy), Keith Richards, & Old Dirty.

― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 05:30 (twenty years ago)

Jennifer Warnes to Leonard Cohen, at times.
Martin Gore to Dave Gahan
Tanya Donelly to Krtistin Hersh

― derrick (derrick), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 06:02 (twenty years ago)

I think that's Mike Mills on "Fall on Me." My fave track of theirs.

Mills is definitely singing the "What is it up in the air fooooor" part, but the "It's gonna fall!" goes over top of that. I could believe that it's Berry. In the late 90s they broadcast some REM show live on the Atlanta alt-rock station and I distinctly remember the levels being totally off for this one line, because it just BARRELLED over the entire mix with "IT'S GONNA FALLLL." Drowned out everything else, totally hilarious.

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 13:52 (twenty years ago)

"What the hell do we mean by vocal foil?"

A foil is actually much different than a backup singer. The term probablly is derived from the sport of fencing. And the comparison is appropriate, because in alot of ways, the foil IS fencing with the lead singer--making them sharper, keeping them on their toes, vying for attention. That's the role of a good foil, to battle the lead singer for attention, while a backup singer is jst there to make the lead singer sound better and stroke his cojones...(fardon my Prench)...

― Paul Edward Wagemann (PaulEdwardWagemann), Wednesday, 20 September 2006 14:52 (twenty years ago)

Eno once theorized that all the great pops songs used call and response vocals to some extent. Not sure about that, but I get the idea.

― Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Thursday, 21 September 2006 00:09 (twenty years ago)

the foil IS fencing with the lead singer--making them sharper, keeping them on their toes, vying for attention. That's the role of a good foil, to battle the lead singer for attention, while a backup singer is jst there to make the lead singer sound better and stroke his cojones...

In other words, EINAR.

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Thursday, 21 September 2006 00:26 (twenty years ago)

Uh... Keith Richards?

― Johnny Sealy (Johnnyboy), Thursday, 21 September 2006 01:50 (twenty years ago)

So then we agree, Bobby Byrd it us.

― and PappaWheelie, author of Have You Ever Been Poxy Fuled? (PappaWheelie 2), Thursday, 21 September 2006 14:44 (twenty years ago)

er, is...

― and PappaWheelie, author of Have You Ever Been Poxy Fuled? (PappaWheelie 2), Thursday, 21 September 2006 14:44 (twenty years ago)

Bobby Byrd is us...and we are Bobby Byrd...

― hank (hank s), Thursday, 21 September 2006 15:56 (twenty years ago)

I am Malcolm X

― and PappaWheelie, author of Have You Ever Been Poxy Fuled? (PappaWheelie 2), Thursday, 21 September 2006 16:11 (twenty years ago)

I am Spartacus

― hank (hank s), Thursday, 21 September 2006 16:13 (twenty years ago)

Uh... Keith Richards? Richards' backing vocals are on every Stones album, and with 1969's Let It Bleed, Stone's releases often contained a Richards lead vocal, and since 1978's Some Girls each Stones release has had a Richards lead vocal. Vocally, he's the anti-Mick.

― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Thursday, 21 September 2006 22:58 (twenty years ago)

Exene Cervenka to John Doe.

Linda Thompson to Richard.

Martina Topley-Bird to Tricky.

Sally Timms to Jon Langford.

Kris Abbott and Rachel Oldfield of The Pursuit Of Happiness.

Mary Hansen to Laetitia Sadier.

Dan Wilson, Matt Wilson, and John Munson of Trip Shakespeare were all fabulous foils to one another on various songs.

Whichever member(s) of Kleenex/Liliput weren't singing lead on any given song.

Liz Fraser has, sadly, become little more than a vocal foil for whatever unworthy crap she does to feed her children.

― Myke. (Myke Weiskopf), Thursday, 21 September 2006 23:47 (twenty years ago)

jo anna bolme: "carcass"

― Godfrzej Ljang (godfrzej), Thursday, 21 September 2006 23:48 (twenty years ago)

herrema?

― xave (xave), Friday, 22 September 2006 00:51 (twenty years ago)

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